Trial set to begin in murder, burglary case

Opening statements are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. today in the murder trial of a 36-year-old Topeka man, who is accused of shooting a retired jeweler in his rural Lecompton home in 2005.

Attorneys took all day Monday to select 12 jurors and two alternates in the trial of Allen Dale Smith, who is accused of killing 77-year-old Clarence David Boose, a retired jeweler. Smith faces felony murder and aggravated burglary charges.

Prosecutors allege that Smith and another defendant, Leonard Wayne "Battle Axe" Price, burglarized Boose's home in April 2005, but Boose confronted them.

Price, 46, has pleaded guilty to felony murder in the case, but he has said in court that Smith pulled the trigger. Price is expected to testify today in the trial. He will be sentenced in about three weeks.

Both Price and Smith already are serving prison sentences for attempted murder related to a shooting during a Pottawatomie County burglary less than a week after Boose was killed.